My beautiful wife has recently bought a new camera, and has been taking some photography lessons. I really admire her passion, and its great to see her really trying to develop her skills. It makes me look a bit silly in comparison, when my hobby of late seems to be writing meaningless music lists on the internet!!
Anyway, in honour of her, I thought this week’s theme would be photography. You might have to bear with me a bit here, because some of the songs might be a bit of a tenuous link to the theme, and many only have a fleeting reference, and are really about other things. It’s a top 15 this week. AND….I am really trying hard to get a list of songs that does not include Nickelback’s “Photograph”, which actually fits the theme well, and is probably Nickelback’s best song. But I don’t like Nickelback, so I don’t really want to have to include it….here’s hoping.
For each track on the list, I have picked a quote that shows you the photo/camera reference. Enjoy, and once again, feel free to comment and tell me what I have overlooked.
15 - Nightswimming – REM
(“The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago, turned around backwards so the windshield shows”)
I am not really a huge REM fan, I like their big hits, and hence the best of REM album that I have serves me fine. According to Wikipedia, Chris Martin from Coldplay called this the greatest song ever written. If that’s true, that is a massive call. It’s a nice enough ballad.
14 - A Boy Named Sue – Johnny Cash
(“I knew that snake was my own sweet dad, from a worn-out picture that my mother'd had”)
A novelty song, about a boy with an unfortunate name who tracks down his father and has words with him for giving him that name. But, once he understands the reason for it, he forms a slightly different view. Check it out if you haven’t heard it before.
13 - Picture – Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock
(“I found your picture today”)
People that know me know that I am a big fan of Sheryl Crow, and I must admit when I first heard of her pairing with Kid Rock, I was a little surprised. But it actually works quite well, with Sheryl’s sweet voice contrasting well with the rougher voice of Kid Rock. The song is well written, and tells the story of a troubled relationship. There is a great part in the song where they talk about how their respective characters are dealing with the breakup. Crow sings “I was heading to church”, whereas Rock sings “I was off to drink you away.”. For some reason, I have always liked that, it shows the contrast really well I think.
12 – Turning Japanese – The Vapours
(“I’ve Got Your Picture, I’ve got your picture”)
Time to throw in some great 80’s pop music. Although I am not really sure how to tackle the description for this one, as this song contains some downright filthy lyrics. Should I even mention that he “wants a doctor to take a picture” so he can ”look at you from inside as well”….hmmmmm….
11 - Send a Picture of Mother – Johnny Cash
(“and send a picture of mother if you can”)
The Man in Black makes his second appearance on this list. This song tells the story of two brothers who are in prison, one is due for release, but the other has to stay due to some poor behaviour whilst in prison. He laments the fact that he has to stay, and asks his brother to pass on his regards to his family, and then requests that he sends a picture of his mother. A moving song.
10 - I Only Understand Her in the Rain – Tim Rogers
(“I hate your old photos and the smiles that they contain, Yeh your old damn boyfriends, think I’ll leave ‘em out in the rain”)
When You am I released their album “Dress Me Slowly”, some editions had a bonus album of Tim Rogers, their lead singer, performing stripped back, acoustic songs with a collaboration called the Temperence Union. This collaboration contained a track called “Dreamin”. The song talked about feeling jealous after seeing photos of his partner with her ex. Fast forward a few years, and Tim’s solo album Spit Polish pops up with a track called “I Only Understand Her in the Rain”. The lyrics of this track sound mighty familiar. That is because it is the same song, but reworked to new music.
9 - Penny Lane – Beatles
(“In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs, Of every head he's had the pleasure to know. And all the people that come and go, Stop and say hello.”)
Now either that barber doesn’t have many customers, or else he has a lot of photographs! Paul’s little ode to where he grew up is a lovely little song. Sometimes I feel, like with a lot of Beatles songs, it doesn’t get the credit it deserves, as it is overshadowed by many other better Beatles songs, but it just has a nice feelgood flavour to it.
8 - Bad Day – REM
(“It's been a bad day. Please don't take a picture”)
Another REM song on the list. For those that don’t know this song, its very similar in structure to “It’s the end of the world as we know it”. In fact, Bad Day came first, but was left unfinished for many years, and kind of morphed into “…end of the world…” Years later, when the best of was released, this song was finished and added to that tracklisting.
7 - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day
(“So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind”)
Perhaps the most misinterpreted song of all time, it actually about a break up, but seems to be used all the time in a good way, and I would hazard a guess that it would probably be one of the most popular wedding songs since its release. It is a great song though, a simple acoustic track, and a big departure from Green Day’s other songs.
6 - Picture This – Blondie
(“All I want is a photo in my wallet. A small remembrance of something more solid. All I want is a picture of you.”)
Blondie are a great band, I liked “Heart of Glass” before I even knew who it was by. From the excellent album “Parallel Lines” comes “Picture This”, which perhaps you could call Blondie-by-numbers, but I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s a great track, but quintessentially Blondie.
5 - Girls on Film – Duran Duran –
(“There's a camera rolling on her back, on her back”)
This was one of the first songs that came to mind when I thought of this topic, mainly due to the camera noises that occur at the start. I know the song is quite famous for its film clip, considered quite risqué at the time, but to be honest with you, I don’t watch many film clips and I can’t even recall if I have seen it. Nevertheless, it’s a great piece of 80’s pop.
4 - There Goes the Neighbourhood – Sheryl Crow
(“Get out the camera, take a picture, the drag queens and the freaks, are all out on the town”)
I am a big Sheryl Crow fan, and this is one of her best. From her brilliant “Globe Sessions” album, allmusic.com describes this as a “Stonesy rocker”. I can understand the comparison, but it doesn’t do this song credit to dismiss this as just another rock track.
3 - Take a Picture – Filter
(“Could You Take My Picture, Cause I won’t remember”)
A great piece of pop/rock from the late 90’s early 00’s. One of the things I like about making these lists is that sometimes I like to look up the songs and find out a bit more about them. I have always enjoyed the dreamlike melody of this song, but not taken too much notice of the lyrics, other than the chorus. Anyway, it turns out that it is about the lead singer getting drunk on an aeroplane and taking off his clothes (as you do!)…which now helps the opening line “Awake on my airplane, awake on my airplane...my skin is bare, my skin is theirs” to make a lot of sense.
2- Hey Ya! – Outkast
(“Shake it like a Polaroid Picture”)
New Zealand. 2001. I travel to New Zealand and whilst I am over there, I catch up with an Aunt/uncle and cousin, a teenage schoolgirl at the time. Her taste in music was a fair bit different to mine, and so she was playing a lot of hip/hop type music that didn’t do a lot for me. Except for one song which stood out, featuring a very catchy chorus: “I’m sorry Ms Jackson, I am for reeeealll”. I couldn’t get that out of my head for the rest of the trip. I then try and find out who it is from, and discover it is a group called Outkast.
Fast forward several years, and another catchy track, with the Polaroid picture line seems to be everywhere, on radio, in TV, in shops. Despite the massive exposure though, it doesn’t seem to outstay its welcome, and again stands out as being a great song from a genre that doesn’t normally appeal to me. It comes as some surprise when I learn it is from Outkast as well…and brings back memories to my New Zealand trip.
I still haven’t purchased an Outkast album (although did buy the download of this song from itunes), but perhaps I should give them a shot.
1- Kodachrome – Paul Simon
(I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph, So mama don't take my Kodachrome away)
The top photography song by a long margin, how could you not give it to a song that has a type of film as its title, as well as namedropping a camera brand!! Away from the the photo thing, it also contains one of the best opening song lines there is: “when I look back on all the crap I learned at high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” That’s damn fine songwriting right there.
So there it is, my photography list. In my introduction, I mentioned that this was in honour of my wife, but having gone back to look at the list, and realized that it contained songs about skinny dipping, fighting with your father, being in jail, masturbation, being jealous, having a bad day, breaking up with your partner, dodgy neighbourhoods, and getting drunk and stripping on a plane, perhaps it wasn’t my finest choice of dedications!!!....sorry bout that wifey!!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Music Lists - Top Ten "Primate" songs
Has anyone seen that ad on the tv (I think its for red meat) where Sam Neill dances with an orangatang? For some reason that one always brings a smile to my face. So it got me thinking as a theme for the next list – “primate” songs. Now, for the pedantic followers of my list, yes, I am well aware that humans are also primates, but I have looked to the non-human varieties for this list.
So when it comes to primates in music, my first thoughts went to some bands – The Monkees, and from more recent times, Gorrilaz. The Screaming Jets had an album with a gorilla on the front of it, and the Hoodoo Gurus had a B Sides Collection called Gorilla Biscuit. Jack Johnson recorded the soundtrack to the children’s film Curious George, so he has an album called Curious George. Then there is the drumming gorilla from the Cadbury advertisement, I like that ad as well.
Coming up with songs though, has proved a bit more challenging. So this week’s list is only a top ten. Having said that though, there are some mighty good songs on the list.
10 - Monkey Girl – Toots and the Maytals.
Toots and the Maytals are an influential Jamaican reggae group. In the 2009 after Christmas sales, I saw a double best of for the ludicrous price of 50 cents, so I decided to give it a go. I like it, although not being a huge lover of reggae music, the album is a lot to digest in one go.
9 - Monkey with a Drum – Josh Pyke.
I have talked about Josh Pyke in a previous post, and this is another of his nice little songs from the Memories and Dust album.
8 - Monkey to Man – Elvis Costello.
My friend Jiggy lent me a copy of Elvis’s album the Delivery Man some time ago, and although I haven’t listened to it a lot, I have liked the few times that I have. Monkey to Man is one of the highlights on the album, a great catchy track.
7 - Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters.
Ok, so maybe this really should be under a tool theme list, but its an out an out rocker from the Foo Fighters. Again, talking about my friend Jiggy, his recent wirelesscranium blog post discusses the Foo Fighters and sums them up pretty accurately I think.
6 - Theme from the Monkees – The Monkees.
There is no way I could leave this catchy little track of the list. Yes it’s a bit corny, but its very enjoyable.
5 - King Kong – The Kinks.
A great stomping rock song from the Kinks…great great stuff. It is a bonus track on the version of Arthur.... which I own, but I think it was a B Side to one of their big hits. I forget which one.
4- Monkey on a Wire – Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers.
Another track from the husband and wife duo on their “Rattling Bones” album, which I think I have drawn from for previous music lists. Apart from the title track, this is probably one of the highlights of that album.
3 - Ape Man – The Kinks.
At first listen, you could be forgiven for thinking Ape Man is a throwaway novelty song (with the simple but catchy chorus “I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man”) getting into your head. But once you start listening to the lyrics, you soon realize that its actually a bit of a paranoid song, about the threat of nuclear war (“I don’t feel safe in this world no more, I don’t wanna die in a nuclear war, I want to sail away to a distant shore, and live like an ape man”)
2 - Tweeter and the Monkey Man – Travelling Wilburys.
I know some people knock them, but I actually really like the Travelling Wilburys Vol 1, and would consider it one of my favourite albums of all time (I said one of, not the top). People not familiar with the album may know the radio friendly hits like Handle with Care and End of the Line, but Tweeter and the Monkey Man is nothing like that at all. On this track, Bob Dylan takes the lead and gives us a Dylan esque track. There is a funny moment on the “making of” documentary where George Harrison talks about this song, saying that Dylan and Petty went in a room and wrote it together, and George did not understand what they were doing or singing about.
1 - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) – The Beatles
And the top song goes to this track with the epic title. A catchy rock number from the White Album. With so many great Beatles songs, its easy for good songs to get lost a bit, but this one has always stood out as a great track to me. Not that I have a clue what it is about though!!
So there it is. What other songs have I missed from the list? I was struggling to come up with too many that fit the theme.
All feedback most welcome...come on people, humour me that more that one person actually reads these posts!!!
So when it comes to primates in music, my first thoughts went to some bands – The Monkees, and from more recent times, Gorrilaz. The Screaming Jets had an album with a gorilla on the front of it, and the Hoodoo Gurus had a B Sides Collection called Gorilla Biscuit. Jack Johnson recorded the soundtrack to the children’s film Curious George, so he has an album called Curious George. Then there is the drumming gorilla from the Cadbury advertisement, I like that ad as well.
Coming up with songs though, has proved a bit more challenging. So this week’s list is only a top ten. Having said that though, there are some mighty good songs on the list.
10 - Monkey Girl – Toots and the Maytals.
Toots and the Maytals are an influential Jamaican reggae group. In the 2009 after Christmas sales, I saw a double best of for the ludicrous price of 50 cents, so I decided to give it a go. I like it, although not being a huge lover of reggae music, the album is a lot to digest in one go.
9 - Monkey with a Drum – Josh Pyke.
I have talked about Josh Pyke in a previous post, and this is another of his nice little songs from the Memories and Dust album.
8 - Monkey to Man – Elvis Costello.
My friend Jiggy lent me a copy of Elvis’s album the Delivery Man some time ago, and although I haven’t listened to it a lot, I have liked the few times that I have. Monkey to Man is one of the highlights on the album, a great catchy track.
7 - Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters.
Ok, so maybe this really should be under a tool theme list, but its an out an out rocker from the Foo Fighters. Again, talking about my friend Jiggy, his recent wirelesscranium blog post discusses the Foo Fighters and sums them up pretty accurately I think.
6 - Theme from the Monkees – The Monkees.
There is no way I could leave this catchy little track of the list. Yes it’s a bit corny, but its very enjoyable.
5 - King Kong – The Kinks.
A great stomping rock song from the Kinks…great great stuff. It is a bonus track on the version of Arthur.... which I own, but I think it was a B Side to one of their big hits. I forget which one.
4- Monkey on a Wire – Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers.
Another track from the husband and wife duo on their “Rattling Bones” album, which I think I have drawn from for previous music lists. Apart from the title track, this is probably one of the highlights of that album.
3 - Ape Man – The Kinks.
At first listen, you could be forgiven for thinking Ape Man is a throwaway novelty song (with the simple but catchy chorus “I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man”) getting into your head. But once you start listening to the lyrics, you soon realize that its actually a bit of a paranoid song, about the threat of nuclear war (“I don’t feel safe in this world no more, I don’t wanna die in a nuclear war, I want to sail away to a distant shore, and live like an ape man”)
2 - Tweeter and the Monkey Man – Travelling Wilburys.
I know some people knock them, but I actually really like the Travelling Wilburys Vol 1, and would consider it one of my favourite albums of all time (I said one of, not the top). People not familiar with the album may know the radio friendly hits like Handle with Care and End of the Line, but Tweeter and the Monkey Man is nothing like that at all. On this track, Bob Dylan takes the lead and gives us a Dylan esque track. There is a funny moment on the “making of” documentary where George Harrison talks about this song, saying that Dylan and Petty went in a room and wrote it together, and George did not understand what they were doing or singing about.
1 - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) – The Beatles
And the top song goes to this track with the epic title. A catchy rock number from the White Album. With so many great Beatles songs, its easy for good songs to get lost a bit, but this one has always stood out as a great track to me. Not that I have a clue what it is about though!!
So there it is. What other songs have I missed from the list? I was struggling to come up with too many that fit the theme.
All feedback most welcome...come on people, humour me that more that one person actually reads these posts!!!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
"V " Songs - the top ten is revealed
Hi All
I am back, with the top ten “V” songs….check them out, post on the board to let me know what you think. Have I missed something good from the list?
Cheers
Dean
10 - Verisimilitude – Teenage Fanclub.
Some of my mates have been fans of the “Fannies” from quite some time now. I am only new to them in 2010, picking up their album Grand Prix, which I really enjoyed right from the first listen, although I probably still don’t know it as well as I probably should (I bought so much music in 2010 that I think some albums haven’t been given the attention they deserve). Whenever I listen to this song, it reminds me of a song by someone else, but I can’t think of what or who it is.
.
9 - Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn.
In an unlikely pairing, country singer Loretta Lynn, approaching her 70’s, teamed up with Jack White from the White Stripes (as producer) to come up with the critically acclaimed album, Van Lear Rose. I like this album, but probably not as much as some of the critics do, I can’t completely understand the hype. But the title track is a great one.
8- Voulez-vous – Abba
- Is it cool to like Abba ? I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that their music was well made, well crafted, and there is a lot more to it than just a simple throwaway pop song. This one is virtually trademark Abba, if there is such a thing.
7 - Vicar in a Tutu – The Smiths
Like Teenage Fanclub, my friends have been big fans of the Smiths for a while now, and in 2010 I finally took the plunge and purchased their opus “The Queen is Dead”. This is not normally the sort of music that I am into, but I gotta say, it’s a brilliant album, and I should have taken the plunge a lot earlier.
6- Vicious – Lou Reed
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I picked up Lou Reed’s Transformer album in 2010 as well, and Vicious is one of the highlights of the album. Its built around a three chord guitar riff, and sounds great.
5 - Violet Hill – Coldplay
In the lead up to the release of the Coldplay album Viva La Viva, they offered this song as a free download. So I downloaded it, and I gotta say, I think it’s a belter of a song. The rest of the album (which I don’t own) has been so overplayed that you hear it everywhere you go, but I still think this song holds up as a great track.
4 - Video Killed the Radio Star – Buggles
Another pop song, and what a song! Could it be one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time?
3- Very Strange, Very Cool – Four Hours Sleep (featuring Stephen Cummings)
Bill McDonald, from Paul Kelly’s band put together this side project called Four Hours Sleep. Its half a good album, with guest vocalists including Angie Hart, Charles Jenkins, Paul Kelly and others, but other tracks are basically just playing around with sounds, sampling things like a child running across floorboards etc. That stuff doesn’t do much for me, but the more conventional tracks are great. This one in particular is a belter. Featuring Stephen Cummings , the lead singer of the Sports, it tells the story of an old love.
2- Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
This Elvis song has always been one of my favourites, I think I just find it so catchy, and it really does make Las Vegas sound exciting.
And….the number one goes to….
1 - Victoria – Kinks
The topic track goes to the Kinks, with the wonderful Victoria. This comes from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), which is a concept album telling the story of a man who decides to relocate from Britain to Australia. Great rock song.
I am back, with the top ten “V” songs….check them out, post on the board to let me know what you think. Have I missed something good from the list?
Cheers
Dean
10 - Verisimilitude – Teenage Fanclub.
Some of my mates have been fans of the “Fannies” from quite some time now. I am only new to them in 2010, picking up their album Grand Prix, which I really enjoyed right from the first listen, although I probably still don’t know it as well as I probably should (I bought so much music in 2010 that I think some albums haven’t been given the attention they deserve). Whenever I listen to this song, it reminds me of a song by someone else, but I can’t think of what or who it is.
.
9 - Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn.
In an unlikely pairing, country singer Loretta Lynn, approaching her 70’s, teamed up with Jack White from the White Stripes (as producer) to come up with the critically acclaimed album, Van Lear Rose. I like this album, but probably not as much as some of the critics do, I can’t completely understand the hype. But the title track is a great one.
8- Voulez-vous – Abba
- Is it cool to like Abba ? I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that their music was well made, well crafted, and there is a lot more to it than just a simple throwaway pop song. This one is virtually trademark Abba, if there is such a thing.
7 - Vicar in a Tutu – The Smiths
Like Teenage Fanclub, my friends have been big fans of the Smiths for a while now, and in 2010 I finally took the plunge and purchased their opus “The Queen is Dead”. This is not normally the sort of music that I am into, but I gotta say, it’s a brilliant album, and I should have taken the plunge a lot earlier.
6- Vicious – Lou Reed
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I picked up Lou Reed’s Transformer album in 2010 as well, and Vicious is one of the highlights of the album. Its built around a three chord guitar riff, and sounds great.
5 - Violet Hill – Coldplay
In the lead up to the release of the Coldplay album Viva La Viva, they offered this song as a free download. So I downloaded it, and I gotta say, I think it’s a belter of a song. The rest of the album (which I don’t own) has been so overplayed that you hear it everywhere you go, but I still think this song holds up as a great track.
4 - Video Killed the Radio Star – Buggles
Another pop song, and what a song! Could it be one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time?
3- Very Strange, Very Cool – Four Hours Sleep (featuring Stephen Cummings)
Bill McDonald, from Paul Kelly’s band put together this side project called Four Hours Sleep. Its half a good album, with guest vocalists including Angie Hart, Charles Jenkins, Paul Kelly and others, but other tracks are basically just playing around with sounds, sampling things like a child running across floorboards etc. That stuff doesn’t do much for me, but the more conventional tracks are great. This one in particular is a belter. Featuring Stephen Cummings , the lead singer of the Sports, it tells the story of an old love.
2- Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
This Elvis song has always been one of my favourites, I think I just find it so catchy, and it really does make Las Vegas sound exciting.
And….the number one goes to….
1 - Victoria – Kinks
The topic track goes to the Kinks, with the wonderful Victoria. This comes from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), which is a concept album telling the story of a man who decides to relocate from Britain to Australia. Great rock song.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Top Twenty "V" songs - PART ONE
Hi All
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned hoping that Paul Kelly’s recently released book, which he describes as a “mongrel memoir”, would be under the Christmas tree for me. And it was, and I have been reading it ever since. The concept of the book is that he takes one hundred of his songs, in alphabetical order, and then tells a story about them – his inspiration for the song, or other such lists and anecdotes.
Anyway, one thing the book revealed was that Paul does not have any songs beginning with the letter X or with the letter V. X is kind of understandable, but I would have thought the V wouldn’t be that rare of a letter. Indeed in Scrabble, its only worth 4 points, a mid range scoring letter.
So it got me thinking, what are some songs starting with V – and here it is, my top twenty “V” songs.
20 - Voices – Split Enz
When I first got Spellbound, the best of Split Enz, I considered this song to be one of (if not the) weakest on the album. Over time though, I have come to appreciate it a bit more. I would probably still say its one of the weaker ones, but that says more about the quality of the other tracks.
19 - Voices – Cheap Trick
From one Voices to another. Sometimes I listen to this Cheap Trick song and think it is great, other times I listen to it and don’t much like it. Interestingly. I Wikipedia-ed it, and this seems to be a common thread because, according to Wikipedia “The single has become one of the band's more widely known tracks. Critic Rick Clark of Allmusic described "Voices" as being "appealing melodic (albeit wimpy)" and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, also of Allmusic described it as one of Cheap Tricks finest songs. Critic Robert Coyne considers "Voices" to be Nielsen's "best ever ballad," but Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone Magazine described is as "disastrous" and "a ballad from a band that has absolutely no facility for ballads."
18 - Volunteers- Jefferson Airplane
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to one of my all time favourite movies, Forrest Gump. This is psychedelic rock, the sort of thing that you associate with the anti Vietnam War movement, exactly how it is used in the movie.
17 - Village Man – Travis
The B side to the single “Why Does it Always Rain on Me?”, this is a nice track without being anything brilliant
16 - Vampire Racecourse – Sleepy Jackson
This is the only song from this WA band that I know, it came on a free bonus cd that came with the Sunday paper one time. Quite a good little track
15 – Vampire – Antsy Pants
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to the movie Juno. A brilliant movie, with an interesting, quirky soundtrack. This song, as with several others on the soundtrack, is very kitch and if you weren’t in the mood for it, could be considered a bit annoying.
14 - Vienna – Billy Joel
Several years ago, I picked up Billy Joel’s greatest hits boxed set (I guess you would call it) very cheaply. It contains greatest hits volume 1-3, plus an extra disc that features people asking him questions about his music and him providing answers. On that disc, he talks about the song Vienna, and then a live version of the song is included. Its really a good track. It comes from the album “the Stranger”, which is on my list of albums to get one day, although just looking at the tracklist, I think I already have seven of the nine tracks already anyway (from the greatest hits), so its probably not one I need to rush out to pick up.
13 - Venus – Bananarama.
Some frivolous 80’s pop never goes astray on one of these lists…she’s got it, yeah baby, she’s got it.
12 - Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan
Mr Zimmerman seems to be making frequent appearances on my lists - hardly surprising given how prolific he is. This is some folk/rock from the Blonde on Blonde album, featuring some stream of consciousness lyrics. Jiggy of the wirelesscranium blog considers this his all time favourite album, as do many others, but I find I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.
11- Vibrations in Air – Josh Pyke
I guess you would call Josh Pyke’s music indie folk. He writes melodic songs with insightful lyrics, and his music is enjoyable to listen to. I have his Memories and Dust album, which is where this song comes from
So there is part one of the list....with some great tracks coming up in the top ten. Do you have a favourite V song? any comments on the list so far? feel free to post a comment with your thoughts...
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned hoping that Paul Kelly’s recently released book, which he describes as a “mongrel memoir”, would be under the Christmas tree for me. And it was, and I have been reading it ever since. The concept of the book is that he takes one hundred of his songs, in alphabetical order, and then tells a story about them – his inspiration for the song, or other such lists and anecdotes.
Anyway, one thing the book revealed was that Paul does not have any songs beginning with the letter X or with the letter V. X is kind of understandable, but I would have thought the V wouldn’t be that rare of a letter. Indeed in Scrabble, its only worth 4 points, a mid range scoring letter.
So it got me thinking, what are some songs starting with V – and here it is, my top twenty “V” songs.
20 - Voices – Split Enz
When I first got Spellbound, the best of Split Enz, I considered this song to be one of (if not the) weakest on the album. Over time though, I have come to appreciate it a bit more. I would probably still say its one of the weaker ones, but that says more about the quality of the other tracks.
19 - Voices – Cheap Trick
From one Voices to another. Sometimes I listen to this Cheap Trick song and think it is great, other times I listen to it and don’t much like it. Interestingly. I Wikipedia-ed it, and this seems to be a common thread because, according to Wikipedia “The single has become one of the band's more widely known tracks. Critic Rick Clark of Allmusic described "Voices" as being "appealing melodic (albeit wimpy)" and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, also of Allmusic described it as one of Cheap Tricks finest songs. Critic Robert Coyne considers "Voices" to be Nielsen's "best ever ballad," but Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone Magazine described is as "disastrous" and "a ballad from a band that has absolutely no facility for ballads."
18 - Volunteers- Jefferson Airplane
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to one of my all time favourite movies, Forrest Gump. This is psychedelic rock, the sort of thing that you associate with the anti Vietnam War movement, exactly how it is used in the movie.
17 - Village Man – Travis
The B side to the single “Why Does it Always Rain on Me?”, this is a nice track without being anything brilliant
16 - Vampire Racecourse – Sleepy Jackson
This is the only song from this WA band that I know, it came on a free bonus cd that came with the Sunday paper one time. Quite a good little track
15 – Vampire – Antsy Pants
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to the movie Juno. A brilliant movie, with an interesting, quirky soundtrack. This song, as with several others on the soundtrack, is very kitch and if you weren’t in the mood for it, could be considered a bit annoying.
14 - Vienna – Billy Joel
Several years ago, I picked up Billy Joel’s greatest hits boxed set (I guess you would call it) very cheaply. It contains greatest hits volume 1-3, plus an extra disc that features people asking him questions about his music and him providing answers. On that disc, he talks about the song Vienna, and then a live version of the song is included. Its really a good track. It comes from the album “the Stranger”, which is on my list of albums to get one day, although just looking at the tracklist, I think I already have seven of the nine tracks already anyway (from the greatest hits), so its probably not one I need to rush out to pick up.
13 - Venus – Bananarama.
Some frivolous 80’s pop never goes astray on one of these lists…she’s got it, yeah baby, she’s got it.
12 - Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan
Mr Zimmerman seems to be making frequent appearances on my lists - hardly surprising given how prolific he is. This is some folk/rock from the Blonde on Blonde album, featuring some stream of consciousness lyrics. Jiggy of the wirelesscranium blog considers this his all time favourite album, as do many others, but I find I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.
11- Vibrations in Air – Josh Pyke
I guess you would call Josh Pyke’s music indie folk. He writes melodic songs with insightful lyrics, and his music is enjoyable to listen to. I have his Memories and Dust album, which is where this song comes from
So there is part one of the list....with some great tracks coming up in the top ten. Do you have a favourite V song? any comments on the list so far? feel free to post a comment with your thoughts...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Top 15 "Year" songs
Hi All
With a new year now upon us, this week’s musical list theme is years. We know that Bryan Adams sung about the Summer of 69, Prince about 1999, the Smashing Pumpkins about 1979, the Whitlams about 1995 and Queen about ’39, but rather than focusing on specific years, I thought I would focus on songs with “year” or “years” in the title.
Its only a top 15 this week, and I will do the whole lot in one post so as to not clog up everyone’s facebook feeds. I hope you enjoy!
As always, comments, criticisms and topic suggestions are most welcome.
Happy New Year everyone!!!
15 – 99 Years – Vika and Linda.
A Paul Kelly penned track, performed by the Bull sisters. Seems like a pretty good combination to me, and a solid song to start the list with.
14 – Years May Come, Years May Go – Herman’s Hermits
I picked up a cheap best of from Herman’s Hermits several months ago, primarily for the songs “I’m into Something Good” and “No Milk Today”, great little pop songs from the sixties. I was surprised to discover some other gems on the best of, like this song. On the surface, it’s a simple song with pretty lyrics, but I got to say, when you dig a bit below the surface, the lyrics get you thinking.
13 – Anthem for the Year 2000 – Silverchair
From jingly sixties pop to some hard rock, the 13th position is taken by Silverchair’s hard rock. I like some of Silverchair’s stuff, but I have never really got into them in a big way, and certainly don’t rave over their music like some music critics. It’s a good track though. At the start I said I wasn’t including songs that mention specific years, but this one slips through the eligibility criteria because it contains the word “year” in the title.
12 – Golden Years – David Bowie
A good Bowie song, that almost has a bit of a funk/soul feel to it.
11 – Still Crazy After All these Years – Paul Simon
A sweet little song from Paul Simon.
10 – One More Year – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson.
From their excellent collaboration album “Rattlin Bones”, this is a quiet slow tune. There are better on the album, but nonetheless, a solid track.
9 – Forgotten Years – Midnight Oil.
Some Aussie rock from our country’s cabinet minister. I like Midnight Oil, but wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan, its almost like there songs have been around, on the radio or whatever, but I have never taken the next step and got into them in a huge way.
8 – A Couple More Years – Jerry Lee Lewis (with Willie Nelson)
A few years ago I picked up a killer album (pardon the pun) where Jerry Lee Lewis, who I am guessing is probably in his seventies now, duets with a whole lot of musicians – John Fogerty, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, etc. However, Jerry Lee shines through, dominating on the duets, in this very good album. From this album is a reflective song, A Couple More Years. Great stuff.
7 – Living Years – Mike and the Mechanics
Some might call this song daggy, but it is quite poignant I think. I remember it being a huge hit in the late eighties, the sort of song that was appealing to the chart followers as well as the blue rinse set. No doubt it probably gets played on golden oldies radio stations today.
6 – 50 Years – Uncanny X Men
If you thought Mike and the Mechanics was a bit daggy, then you will probably think the same about this sentimental track from this Aussie rock group. If you don’t know the song, here is a sample of the lyrics:
“Its nearly time we were leaving, well have one more for the road/It don’t mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/So we gather around the table, raise our champagne in the air/It dont mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/Cause we’ve got this night together well have here now forever/Don’t tell me now you can write me a letter, where will we be in Fifty years”. Its corny, but its great corny!!
5 – It Was a Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra
It would be wrong to leave the Chairman of the Board off the list, although I must say, this is not one of my favourite Sinatra tracks. I think I like the ones that swing a bit more. But it’s a nice song, and will always be memorable to me for the Simpsons parody, where Homer sings about drinking a very good beer!
4 – Good Year for the Roses – Elvis Costello
When I think of Elvis Costello, I normally associate him with the catchy pop of songs like Oliver’s Army or Whats So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding. I don’t normally think of ballads, which is strange, because he has some amazing slow songs, like Indoor Fireworks, and this one, Good Year for the Roses.
3 – Another Year Gone – Bob Evans
I think I downloaded this track from I-tunes, as a B-side, because I can’t remember which of Bob’s albums it is from, but it’s a lovely little song.
2 – Young Years – Dragon
A pop rock anthem, it’s catchy and a most enjoyable listen.
1 – New Years Day – U2
From one anthem to another, the number one spot given the time of year it is, must go to U2’s New Years Day. It’s a great song, featuring Clayton’s bassline, and Edge’s keyboard playing. I love the intro to this song, the keys, and then the scream from Bono. Its just great. According to the trusted source that is Wikipedia, the song’s lyrics started as love song from Bono to his wife, but somehow ended up being about the Polish solidarity movement.
So there you have it, my top “years” songs. Hope you enjoyed.
Happy New Year to all.
With a new year now upon us, this week’s musical list theme is years. We know that Bryan Adams sung about the Summer of 69, Prince about 1999, the Smashing Pumpkins about 1979, the Whitlams about 1995 and Queen about ’39, but rather than focusing on specific years, I thought I would focus on songs with “year” or “years” in the title.
Its only a top 15 this week, and I will do the whole lot in one post so as to not clog up everyone’s facebook feeds. I hope you enjoy!
As always, comments, criticisms and topic suggestions are most welcome.
Happy New Year everyone!!!
15 – 99 Years – Vika and Linda.
A Paul Kelly penned track, performed by the Bull sisters. Seems like a pretty good combination to me, and a solid song to start the list with.
14 – Years May Come, Years May Go – Herman’s Hermits
I picked up a cheap best of from Herman’s Hermits several months ago, primarily for the songs “I’m into Something Good” and “No Milk Today”, great little pop songs from the sixties. I was surprised to discover some other gems on the best of, like this song. On the surface, it’s a simple song with pretty lyrics, but I got to say, when you dig a bit below the surface, the lyrics get you thinking.
13 – Anthem for the Year 2000 – Silverchair
From jingly sixties pop to some hard rock, the 13th position is taken by Silverchair’s hard rock. I like some of Silverchair’s stuff, but I have never really got into them in a big way, and certainly don’t rave over their music like some music critics. It’s a good track though. At the start I said I wasn’t including songs that mention specific years, but this one slips through the eligibility criteria because it contains the word “year” in the title.
12 – Golden Years – David Bowie
A good Bowie song, that almost has a bit of a funk/soul feel to it.
11 – Still Crazy After All these Years – Paul Simon
A sweet little song from Paul Simon.
10 – One More Year – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson.
From their excellent collaboration album “Rattlin Bones”, this is a quiet slow tune. There are better on the album, but nonetheless, a solid track.
9 – Forgotten Years – Midnight Oil.
Some Aussie rock from our country’s cabinet minister. I like Midnight Oil, but wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan, its almost like there songs have been around, on the radio or whatever, but I have never taken the next step and got into them in a huge way.
8 – A Couple More Years – Jerry Lee Lewis (with Willie Nelson)
A few years ago I picked up a killer album (pardon the pun) where Jerry Lee Lewis, who I am guessing is probably in his seventies now, duets with a whole lot of musicians – John Fogerty, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, etc. However, Jerry Lee shines through, dominating on the duets, in this very good album. From this album is a reflective song, A Couple More Years. Great stuff.
7 – Living Years – Mike and the Mechanics
Some might call this song daggy, but it is quite poignant I think. I remember it being a huge hit in the late eighties, the sort of song that was appealing to the chart followers as well as the blue rinse set. No doubt it probably gets played on golden oldies radio stations today.
6 – 50 Years – Uncanny X Men
If you thought Mike and the Mechanics was a bit daggy, then you will probably think the same about this sentimental track from this Aussie rock group. If you don’t know the song, here is a sample of the lyrics:
“Its nearly time we were leaving, well have one more for the road/It don’t mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/So we gather around the table, raise our champagne in the air/It dont mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/Cause we’ve got this night together well have here now forever/Don’t tell me now you can write me a letter, where will we be in Fifty years”. Its corny, but its great corny!!
5 – It Was a Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra
It would be wrong to leave the Chairman of the Board off the list, although I must say, this is not one of my favourite Sinatra tracks. I think I like the ones that swing a bit more. But it’s a nice song, and will always be memorable to me for the Simpsons parody, where Homer sings about drinking a very good beer!
4 – Good Year for the Roses – Elvis Costello
When I think of Elvis Costello, I normally associate him with the catchy pop of songs like Oliver’s Army or Whats So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding. I don’t normally think of ballads, which is strange, because he has some amazing slow songs, like Indoor Fireworks, and this one, Good Year for the Roses.
3 – Another Year Gone – Bob Evans
I think I downloaded this track from I-tunes, as a B-side, because I can’t remember which of Bob’s albums it is from, but it’s a lovely little song.
2 – Young Years – Dragon
A pop rock anthem, it’s catchy and a most enjoyable listen.
1 – New Years Day – U2
From one anthem to another, the number one spot given the time of year it is, must go to U2’s New Years Day. It’s a great song, featuring Clayton’s bassline, and Edge’s keyboard playing. I love the intro to this song, the keys, and then the scream from Bono. Its just great. According to the trusted source that is Wikipedia, the song’s lyrics started as love song from Bono to his wife, but somehow ended up being about the Polish solidarity movement.
So there you have it, my top “years” songs. Hope you enjoyed.
Happy New Year to all.
Musical List - Top Twenty "Rain" songs - PART TWO
Originally posted on facebook, December 2010
Hope you have enjoyed the rainy list so far…in the last post I gave you a little teaser about what was to come – I wonder if you were able to deduce any of the tracks on the top ten….
10 - Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
This is from the great album “Cosmo’s Factory”, and despite being rock, it has a folk/acoustic feel to it, and a bit of a melancholy undercurrent.
9 - Kentucky Rain – Elvis Presley.
You can’t leave the King off this list, and Kentucky Rain is a good example of 70’s era Elvis.
8 - Rain – The Beatles.
An unheralded track from their experimental phase, Rain actually holds up pretty well as a solid track.
7 - Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan.
A simple, but beautiful song from Bob’s great album “Blood on the Tracks”, I found this quote about the song by Oliver Trager, and I can’t do a better job of summing it up, so here it is: “Closing an otherwise desperate album with a light reappraisal of commitment, "Buckets of Rain" is a final Sinatra-like tip of the hat sung with the playfulness of an old Piedmont songster. Though Dylan seems to liken the relationship he describes here with the ferocity of a deluge, he plaintively sings to his love, describing in light, sensual brushstrokes why he still finds her special”
6 - Have you ever seen the rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The swamp rockers are back with another rain song. At my work’s Christmas party a few weeks ago, a covers band were playing this song, which prompted a bit of a crowd sing a long, and the song just evoked a really nice feel to it. Again, doing some research on the net about the song has prompted a host of explanations as to what the songs lyrics actually mean – was it about tension within the band, was it a Vietnam War protest song (with mean being a metaphor for bombs)?, or was it about the idealism of the 1960’s fading? It doesn’t really matter, it’s a great song whatever it means.
5 - I Love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbitt.
This is another of those songs which some might term a bit daggy, but I really like (and often feature on my lists). It was a country crossover hit for Rabbitt, and is a very catchy song. In an interesting piece of trivia, Rabbitt wrote the Elvis song “Kentucky Rain”.
4 - Why Does it Always Rain on me? – Travis.
This song was extremely overplayed at the time it was a hit, and I think a lot of people got sick of it, but revisiting it, I still think it holds up as a great song. When things are not going right for us in our lives, I think everyone can relate to the premise of this song.
3- A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall – Bob Dylan.
A great song from Dylan’s protest song repertoire, the lyrics take the form of questions and answers. As a general rule, I don’t like long songs, and this one clocks in at nearly seven minutes long, but when long songs are done well, they sound great.
2- Fire and Rain – James Taylor.
A lovely folk/rock ballad from Mr Taylor, this is a moody and introspective, and very sparce. I think it’s a beautiful track.
1- Rain – Dragon.
Possibly a controversial choice to pick a pop/rock track that is relatively simple in structure and lyrics compared to some of the others mentioned, but I happen to really like this song. Its just a great pop song, and the sort of song that I always want to sing along to, despite not being able to hit any of the notes!
So there it is, my rain songs list. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feel free to post your thoughts and let me know what songs I have left off that should be on the list.
Hope you have enjoyed the rainy list so far…in the last post I gave you a little teaser about what was to come – I wonder if you were able to deduce any of the tracks on the top ten….
10 - Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
This is from the great album “Cosmo’s Factory”, and despite being rock, it has a folk/acoustic feel to it, and a bit of a melancholy undercurrent.
9 - Kentucky Rain – Elvis Presley.
You can’t leave the King off this list, and Kentucky Rain is a good example of 70’s era Elvis.
8 - Rain – The Beatles.
An unheralded track from their experimental phase, Rain actually holds up pretty well as a solid track.
7 - Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan.
A simple, but beautiful song from Bob’s great album “Blood on the Tracks”, I found this quote about the song by Oliver Trager, and I can’t do a better job of summing it up, so here it is: “Closing an otherwise desperate album with a light reappraisal of commitment, "Buckets of Rain" is a final Sinatra-like tip of the hat sung with the playfulness of an old Piedmont songster. Though Dylan seems to liken the relationship he describes here with the ferocity of a deluge, he plaintively sings to his love, describing in light, sensual brushstrokes why he still finds her special”
6 - Have you ever seen the rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The swamp rockers are back with another rain song. At my work’s Christmas party a few weeks ago, a covers band were playing this song, which prompted a bit of a crowd sing a long, and the song just evoked a really nice feel to it. Again, doing some research on the net about the song has prompted a host of explanations as to what the songs lyrics actually mean – was it about tension within the band, was it a Vietnam War protest song (with mean being a metaphor for bombs)?, or was it about the idealism of the 1960’s fading? It doesn’t really matter, it’s a great song whatever it means.
5 - I Love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbitt.
This is another of those songs which some might term a bit daggy, but I really like (and often feature on my lists). It was a country crossover hit for Rabbitt, and is a very catchy song. In an interesting piece of trivia, Rabbitt wrote the Elvis song “Kentucky Rain”.
4 - Why Does it Always Rain on me? – Travis.
This song was extremely overplayed at the time it was a hit, and I think a lot of people got sick of it, but revisiting it, I still think it holds up as a great song. When things are not going right for us in our lives, I think everyone can relate to the premise of this song.
3- A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall – Bob Dylan.
A great song from Dylan’s protest song repertoire, the lyrics take the form of questions and answers. As a general rule, I don’t like long songs, and this one clocks in at nearly seven minutes long, but when long songs are done well, they sound great.
2- Fire and Rain – James Taylor.
A lovely folk/rock ballad from Mr Taylor, this is a moody and introspective, and very sparce. I think it’s a beautiful track.
1- Rain – Dragon.
Possibly a controversial choice to pick a pop/rock track that is relatively simple in structure and lyrics compared to some of the others mentioned, but I happen to really like this song. Its just a great pop song, and the sort of song that I always want to sing along to, despite not being able to hit any of the notes!
So there it is, my rain songs list. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feel free to post your thoughts and let me know what songs I have left off that should be on the list.
Musical list - Top Twenty "Rain" songs - PART ONE
Originally posted on facebook, Dec 2010
Hi Everyone.
Sorry I am a bit late with the list this week – lots of stuff on at the moment!
Lately its been raining a fair bit in Melbourne (well maybe it just seems that way since in recent years it hasn’t been raining all that much!), so it got me to think, what would be the top 20 rain songs? Of the lists I have made so far, this one has been by far the hardest, in terms of settling on a final twenty, but also in terms of what order the tracks should be in. Every time I have looked at the list, I have tinkered with the order.
So here is the list – I am sure if I looked at it again I would continue to tinker with the order. I know the excitement of this list will be getting to you now. Will Milli Vanilli make an appearance? Will we all need to get stoned? (the music geeks will understand this!) Will we be able to stand the rain, or will we be singing in the rain? Will we only understand her in the rain?
Hope you enjoy it though!!
20 - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - Chris Isaak.
Its probably fair to say that Chris Isaak has more of a female than male fan base, but nevertheless I still think he is a very talented individual. His voice almost has a haunting quality to it, that I really like. This track is from his self titled album, and in some ways is the stereotypical Issak song about a wounded romance, but its still a nice track.
19 - Summer Rain – U2.
No, its not the Belinda Carlisle track, although for a pop song I actually don’t mind that one. This is a largely acoustic based track that is from their B sides 1990-2000 compilation. It’s a nice enough song, but nothing like the stadium rock that you would expect from U2.
18 - I Wish It would Rain Down – Phil Collins.
Some late 80’s adult pop from the bald drummer himself, this one almost has a bit of gospel influence to it. Nice song.
17 - Raindrops keep falling on my head – BJ Thomas (or John Farnham, take your pick) .
I have both versions in my collection, and there is not really much to say about this song, it’s a simple, catchy little number.
16 - Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues.
I am a Pogues fan, and this is an interesting track because its not the fast paced, dirty Irish folk that we are used to from this group, but rather its romantic, evocative. A quick google search has revealed that some believe it is a song about whisky (Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan’s struggles with alcohol are well known) but I think I would prefer to think of it as a sweet little love song.
15 - Midnight Rain – Paul Kelly.
From the underrated album “Nothing But a Dream” this is a nice, moody, atmospheric type of song. Although there are other better tracks on this album, it fits quite nicely and is a good track.
14 - After the Rain – The Angels.
After those moody, romantic songs, I gotta include some Aussie pub rock in the list, and this track by the Angels is a good one!
13 - Rain on the Scarecrow – John Mellencamp.
Allmusic.com describes this song as one that captures the hopes and fears of Middle America. I probably haven’t searched for such a deep meaning, I just like it as a rock song. There are better Mellencamp songs than this, but it’s a good track nonetheless.
12 - No Rain – Blind Melon.
Its 90’s mainstream pop/rock, but its good pop/rock.
11 - Summer Rain – Paul Kelly.
The opening track from Paul’s excellent “Wanted Man” album, this is a beautiful song. Kelly sings quite plainly (if you don’t like his voice you might find this annoying) but is accompanied by some lovely piano and cello. In writing this list and looking on the internet for some information, I have been shocked to discover that this song is essentially about sex (“"She comes and goes like summer rain / I wait all day for summer rain / And when she comes I smile again". ) I am hoping that Paul’s book, where he sheds light on some of the meanings behind his songs, is going to be under the Christmas tree with my name on it, so that I can find out more about this, and other songs.
So there it is, part one of the Rain songs. Part two coming up soon, and plenty to look forward to, with some of the biggest names in music on the list, two artists featuring twice, and a massive question that was a hit in the late 90's!
Hi Everyone.
Sorry I am a bit late with the list this week – lots of stuff on at the moment!
Lately its been raining a fair bit in Melbourne (well maybe it just seems that way since in recent years it hasn’t been raining all that much!), so it got me to think, what would be the top 20 rain songs? Of the lists I have made so far, this one has been by far the hardest, in terms of settling on a final twenty, but also in terms of what order the tracks should be in. Every time I have looked at the list, I have tinkered with the order.
So here is the list – I am sure if I looked at it again I would continue to tinker with the order. I know the excitement of this list will be getting to you now. Will Milli Vanilli make an appearance? Will we all need to get stoned? (the music geeks will understand this!) Will we be able to stand the rain, or will we be singing in the rain? Will we only understand her in the rain?
Hope you enjoy it though!!
20 - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - Chris Isaak.
Its probably fair to say that Chris Isaak has more of a female than male fan base, but nevertheless I still think he is a very talented individual. His voice almost has a haunting quality to it, that I really like. This track is from his self titled album, and in some ways is the stereotypical Issak song about a wounded romance, but its still a nice track.
19 - Summer Rain – U2.
No, its not the Belinda Carlisle track, although for a pop song I actually don’t mind that one. This is a largely acoustic based track that is from their B sides 1990-2000 compilation. It’s a nice enough song, but nothing like the stadium rock that you would expect from U2.
18 - I Wish It would Rain Down – Phil Collins.
Some late 80’s adult pop from the bald drummer himself, this one almost has a bit of gospel influence to it. Nice song.
17 - Raindrops keep falling on my head – BJ Thomas (or John Farnham, take your pick) .
I have both versions in my collection, and there is not really much to say about this song, it’s a simple, catchy little number.
16 - Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues.
I am a Pogues fan, and this is an interesting track because its not the fast paced, dirty Irish folk that we are used to from this group, but rather its romantic, evocative. A quick google search has revealed that some believe it is a song about whisky (Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan’s struggles with alcohol are well known) but I think I would prefer to think of it as a sweet little love song.
15 - Midnight Rain – Paul Kelly.
From the underrated album “Nothing But a Dream” this is a nice, moody, atmospheric type of song. Although there are other better tracks on this album, it fits quite nicely and is a good track.
14 - After the Rain – The Angels.
After those moody, romantic songs, I gotta include some Aussie pub rock in the list, and this track by the Angels is a good one!
13 - Rain on the Scarecrow – John Mellencamp.
Allmusic.com describes this song as one that captures the hopes and fears of Middle America. I probably haven’t searched for such a deep meaning, I just like it as a rock song. There are better Mellencamp songs than this, but it’s a good track nonetheless.
12 - No Rain – Blind Melon.
Its 90’s mainstream pop/rock, but its good pop/rock.
11 - Summer Rain – Paul Kelly.
The opening track from Paul’s excellent “Wanted Man” album, this is a beautiful song. Kelly sings quite plainly (if you don’t like his voice you might find this annoying) but is accompanied by some lovely piano and cello. In writing this list and looking on the internet for some information, I have been shocked to discover that this song is essentially about sex (“"She comes and goes like summer rain / I wait all day for summer rain / And when she comes I smile again". ) I am hoping that Paul’s book, where he sheds light on some of the meanings behind his songs, is going to be under the Christmas tree with my name on it, so that I can find out more about this, and other songs.
So there it is, part one of the Rain songs. Part two coming up soon, and plenty to look forward to, with some of the biggest names in music on the list, two artists featuring twice, and a massive question that was a hit in the late 90's!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)